I've been looking for this particular short sci-fi story for several years and I am finally giving up on going solo. Help me find it, hive mind.
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posted by mr_crash_davis
on Mar 20, 2013 -
5 answers
I'm a graduate student about to propose a college writing class on science fiction and personal identity. The stories need to be short and brand name authors are preferred. I've got a prospective syllabus (see inside), but I bet there's a lot of good stuff that I'm missing that you know about.
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posted by vathek
on Feb 12, 2013 -
50 answers
As a reader of fiction (especially if you're a devotee of
speculative fiction), how much do you like detailed descriptions and/or lists as part of the story? What if the story switches between detail and expediency?
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posted by batmonkey
on Dec 28, 2012 -
12 answers
[book-filter] Need help tracking down a sci-fi novel(s) read in the late 80's or 90's containing special abilities provided by nanochips.
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posted by eloeth-starr
on Oct 7, 2012 -
1 answer
Looking for instances, whether fictional, religious or otherwise, of the idea of the "double".
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posted by Lorin
on Sep 30, 2012 -
33 answers
Speculative fiction about historical gradualism: I'm looking for SF stories which begin in the real historical world (past or present) and then gradually diverge from it,
without any single decisive turning point.
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posted by RogerB
on Sep 19, 2012 -
11 answers
In fiction, an adolescent girl is imprisoned, and can only communicate with a mysterious fellow prisoner she's never met. They can only communicate in code, a plausible code that teaches the girl how to encode information into her world's predominant technology.
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posted by Sunburnt
on Dec 15, 2011 -
8 answers
Ask whether the universe of the story recognizes the existence of persons. Is
this distinction between SF and Fantasy original with Ted Chiang? Can you think of any counter-examples that don't fit?
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posted by straight
on Sep 14, 2011 -
30 answers
Help me construct a typology of fictional (but familiar) technological epochs -- along with the genre-conventions and stock-elements that characterize each.
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posted by foursentences
on Jun 28, 2011 -
7 answers
Fiction filter: A science fiction book I recall reading in my youth involved a cabin or shed in which time goes by several times faster inside rather than outside.
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posted by oceanjesse
on Jun 20, 2011 -
4 answers
Can you tell me the name and author of this story? Aliens contact earth, but they say they will only negotiate with humanity through [woman's name] - it is up to [woman] to decree if humanity is given vast boons of technology, or if it is destroyed by the aliens.
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posted by Sockpuppets 'R' Us
on Mar 26, 2011 -
3 answers
Trying to track down a kid's sci-fi short story about a girl whose neighbour was an alien who could detach and 'fix' body parts.
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posted by Paragon
on May 12, 2010 -
6 answers
I just finished reading
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, and really enjoyed it. I'd love to read other World War I novels with fantasy/science-fiction/steampunk twists. Are there any?
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posted by Caduceus
on Oct 17, 2009 -
17 answers
Half remembered short story identification filter: A story in which scientists discover grids underground which might be the cities of beings who live at a greater density, and then at the end scientists from the underground city are looking through the documents, having wiped out humanity accidentally just by coming to the surface.
posted by Artw
on Sep 7, 2009 -
5 answers
I've just finished reading Let The Galaxy Burn, a collection of Warhammer 40k short stories, and I really liked it. What are some other good Warhammer 40k books?
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posted by thewittyname
on Jun 9, 2009 -
11 answers
Is there any first contact science fiction (or other types of scifi, more generally) where the characters have actually READ first contact science fiction before?
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posted by OmieWise
on Mar 24, 2009 -
23 answers
I'd like recommendations for short stories that are strange, humorous, or have a surprising twist.
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posted by Rinku
on Mar 8, 2009 -
57 answers
ID That Story: novel (novella? short story?) in which a man is standing in line. Pretty much the entire story is his experience while waiting in line. It's a future/dystopia story. The man is waiting in line to make a complaint. He falls in love with the girl in front of him, though she's not allowed to turn and look at him. It's a parable about overpopulation. It was probably written in the 60s or 70s. That's all I remember.
posted by grumblebee
on Nov 20, 2008 -
8 answers
I am trying to find a SciFi book that I read the first couple of chapters of. It involved two companies racing to come up with some kind of genetic cure and in the process creating a monster or something.
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posted by rbs
on Feb 23, 2008 -
6 answers
Help me identify these four short horror stories, based on descriptions of their plots and endings. SPOILERS AHEAD!
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posted by Faint of Butt
on Jan 29, 2008 -
3 answers
Once I read a story about people who could give a disease to computers. Or possibly they could catch this disease through the keyboard. Citizens with this disease, I vaguely recall, were not allowed to use computers without rubber gloves. If you had AIDS or HIV you were protected and allowed unrestricted access to computer keyboards. Does this ring a bell for anyone?
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posted by dual_action
on Sep 14, 2005 -
1 answer
Who can recommend some good time travel fiction? (Yes, I'm a geek)
posted by Robot Johnny
on Jun 10, 2004 -
46 answers
Like many other geeks here, I grew up reading sci-fi and fantasy. But I gradually got tired of it, because so much of it was poorly written or antithetical to my tastes. But I still yearn for other worlds at times, so I'd be interested in recommendations. [more inside.]
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posted by grumblebee
on Dec 16, 2003 -
64 answers
